Warren J. Wilson

Experimental and theoretical high energy physics. Progress report 1 Oct 1979 to 30 Sep 1980

Research performed in theoretical high energy physics includes: nonabelian Stokes theorem; connection between asymptotic behavior and bound states in QCD; classical solutions for gauge fields interacting with Higgs mesons; neutrino oscillations; relativistic wave equation and mass spectrum of gluonium; dynamical structures of the pion; convergence of reflectionless approximations to confining potentials; degeneracy in one-dimensional quantum mechanics; review of heavy quarks and new particles; semiclassical results on normalization of bound state wave functions; proton lifetime; quark magnetic moments and E1 radiative transitions in charmonium; lectures on quark models; inverse scattering and the upsilon family; and magnetic moments of quarks in baryons and mesons. In experimental high energy physics, the emphasis has been on strong interactions but also includes several crucial tests of the currently most important theories of elementary particle interactions. Experiments described include: electromagnetic couplings of vector mesons; direct photon production at large transverse momentum; hyperon experiments; spin effects in strong interactions; a dense detector for proton decay; and exclusive processes at large transverse momenta. (GHT)

Inequalities for rates and polarizations in semileptonic decays

In any decay A ..-->.. l/sup +/..nu../sub l/ + B, if the lepton pair is coupled via the usual V - A weak current, it is shown that dGAMMA (A ..-->.. l/sup +//sub lambda1..nu../sub l/ + B)/dm/sub l/..nu.. is monotonically decreasing in the lepton mass m/sub l/ (here the helicity lambda refers to the l..nu.. c.m. system, in which the total l..nu.. energy is m/sub l/..nu..). By transforming to the rest system of A, it is shown that this theorem can be converted (for M/sub A/ - M/sub B/ >> m/sub l/) to useful (but approximate) inequalities relating ratios of semileptonic decay rates (e.g., for l = e,..mu..) and muon polarization in the rest system of A, e.g., GAMMA/sub e/+/GAMMA/sub ..mu../+ > or approx. = (1 + P/sub ..mu../+)/2. Implications are noted in particular for charmed-meson decays.

Kaon-electron correlations in the semileptonic decays of D mesons

In this paper the reaction e/sup +/e/sup -/ ..-->.. e/sup + -/K/sup - +/ + anything is analyzed, under the assumption the electron and kaon are products of the semileptonic decay of a D meson. If it is assumed that the principal decay mode is D ..-->.. K*ev then it is shown that the average values of the electron energy, the kaon energy, and the K-e invariant-mass squared must, quite generally, lie within a small two-dimensional region. On the other hand, if it is assumed that the dominant decay mode is D ..-->.. Ke..nu.. then the three averages must lie on a straight line which does not intersect the K* plane. Using these results one can experimentally test in a completely model-independent way the notion that these two modes saturate the decay rate. One is also able to measure the relative branching ratios of these two modes without making any specialized assumptions.